Romanian-born American theater director Andrei Serban has compared the famous classical Korean love story “Chunhyangjeon” to freely adapted works of Shakespeare.

“Like Shakespeare’s stories, you can turn the story upside down, improvise and do the craziest experiments to recreate,” Serban said in a press conference on Wednesday about his new production “Andrei Serban’s Different Chunhyang,” which will be staged with the National Changguek Company from Nov. 20 to Dec. 6.

“But at the end of the day, it is a story of truth and essence of life.”

The director added that the story of Chunhyang is very general and open.

The popular pansori (Korean folk narrative) “Chunhyangga,” the love story of Seong Chun-hyang, the daughter of a low-class retired female entertainer, and Lee Mong-ryong, the son of a nobleman, has been frequently adapted for films, TV dramas, theater performances and other creative genres in the past. But this time, the stage director has recreated the well-known story to fit the stage for changgeuk, a form of Korean traditional opera. It is part of the state-run troupe’s efforts to make traditional Korean performances more accessible to the public.

Serban’s changgeuk kept the original musical storytelling style of “Chunhyangga,” while modernizing the settings, dialogues and costumes. For example, Lee is cast as the son of a high government official who attends university and enjoys partying at clubs in the new changguek version. Also the minimalistic stage, under the direction of New York-based stage and costume designer Anka Lupes, uses materials like water, sand and concrete to create a modern, realistic setting, while a video screen in the background tells another story that is more traditional. 

“At first, I was concerned about disassembling our own ‘Chunhyang’ and rearranging it into a new form,” said Kim Song-nyo, the troupe’s artistic director, at the press conference. “But in that process, our traditional sound and music was kept alive.”

Serban, who is known for his iconoclastic and creative style, admitted that in the beginning, it was not easy for him to approach the story, which is deeply rooted in Korean consciousness, from a totally different cultural viewpoint.

“It is a very emotional story,” said the director. “It took us about one year to prepare and get over the fear of going into the unknown. Working with a remarkable group of actors and collaborators has helped (us) to realize the process is not as difficult as I thought.”

The director noted that the changgeuk actors grew up with very strict discipline, learning traditional singing according to strict rules, traditions and techniques. “So the question I asked was, can you be free from the traditional style and techniques, and use your body that is not artificial and voice that is more risk-taking and adventurous than you ever used before,” said Serban, adding that he asked similar questions when directing operas in the past.

He said that Ahn Eun-mi, choreographer of the production, helped a lot by talking directly to the actors about how to let go and get rid of all the cliches of traditional style. “I wanted to make this production not coming from other time periods, but a play with extremely powerful and vibrant music that can transmit to younger audiences today.”

The performance will take place at a smaller venue, Daloreum Theater at the National Theater of Korea, from Nov. 20 to Dec. 6. Serban chose a smaller theater because he felt that the story of Chunhyang is very delicate and sincere, and can effectively be communicated in an intimate setting.

Tickets ranges from 20,000 won to 50,000 won and English translation is provided during the show. For more information and for ticket inquiries, visit www.ntok.go.kr or call (02) 2280-4114.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)